On-campus semifinals no longer a playoff option

Posted by John Taylor on May 15, 2012, 3:21 PM EDT

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The how’s and where’s of the first-ever playoff system in major college football remain to be determined, but there is one option to the latter question that is reportedly no longer under consideration.

According to Joe Rexrode of the Lansing State Journal, Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis conceded earlier Tuesday that the on-campus option for hosting semifinal games “has been eliminated” from consideration. When that option was officially taken off the table is unclear. Why, or at least part of the reason why, was made clear by Hollis — The Granddaddy of Them All.

“For me, it’s critical to keep the Rose Bowl in the equation,” Hollis said. “There’s a lot of historical value and there’s a lot of future value to having the Rose Bowl connected with Michigan State, with Michigan, with the Big Ten Conference, and the home (game idea) takes that out.”

The move comes as little surprise as it was thought on-campus venues were no longer a consideration until officials confirmed the idea was, in essence, alive but on life support.

With the apparent decision to eschew on-campus venues — which was backed by, among others, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany and his Pac-12 counterpart Larry Scott — the where of the semifinals in a college football playoff will come down to two options: current bowl venues, or bidding them out to neutral sites outside of the current bowl structure.

As for the favorite among those two options, the Big Ten, per Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, is in favor of the semifinals being contested at current bowl venues, which, of course, includes the Rose Bowl.

“Let’s say it is five degrees. Is that right for the game?” Smith was quoted as saying, going against the grain as to why most thought the Big Ten would push harder for on-campus semifinals. “We’re not pros… A fast surface, good weather is important.”

How that option is viewed by the other 10 conferences remains to be seen and will be up for further discussion in the coming months.

One of the biggest advantages of on-campus games was that, for at least two of the four fan bases, the concern of traveling two consecutive weekends — semifinal, championship game — would have been somewhat mitigated. Hollis told the media at the Big Ten meetings today that he hopes the NCAA will consider helping families financially with travel expenses now that the on-campus option is no longer a possibility.

The leaders of the game expect to have a final decision on where the games will be contested and how the teams will be selected in 2014 and beyond by the end of July at the latest.

Former Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini is settling into his new job as head coach of the Youngstown State Penguins. The step down in profile among college coaching jobs is a refreshing change of pace for the hot-tempered Pelini, and it could be just what he needs the most.

Ralph Russo of the Associated Press wrote a solid profile of Pelini today, taking a look at how Pelini is adjusting to the life outside of the bright spotlight that comes with coaching a big time college football program as storied as Nebraska. The pressure may not be quite as high in Youngstown, but it is still a state with tremendous football pride and the job is still similar in many respects.

“Coaching’s coaching,” Pelini explained. “This whole step back thing … You coach where you’re coaching. I wouldn’t be opposed to ever coaching high school ball. The challenges are always there. They’re different at different places.”

Pelini also was given a chance to comment on the audio recording of a meeting with Nebraska players Pelini held following his dismissal by the university. In it, Pelini is heard using some strong language and criticizing Nebraska athletics director Shawn Eichorst.

“I think it’s sad that it came out,” Pelini said. “That’s what’s wrong with that place.”

Nebraska and Pelini are going their separate ways now. Pelini has taken his family home to Youngstown, where he will also be charged with resurrecting a once dominant FCS program back to national relevance on an annual basis. Pelini has also added his brother, Carl Pelini, to the coaching staff. Meanwhile, Nebraska moves forward with a new head coach on the opposite polarity of Pelini, former Oregon State head coach Mike Riley.

A Tuscaloosa police report states Jones was in a car stopped on 10th Avenue with the smell of marijuana. Officers found digital scales in the Dodge Challenger belonging to Brandon Lee Hansberry, who was also arrested.

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Fortunately for a Florida State offensive line that is in the midst of a significant restoration, the start of the 2015 season is still five months down the road.

Monday, Jimbo Fisher confirmed that redshirt sophomore Ryan Hoefeld underwent surgery recently to repair a meniscus issue in his knee. Because of the medical procedure, the coach said, Hoefeld will miss the remainder of the spring practice sessions.

Hoefeld entered spring in a battle with Alec Eberle to replace Austin Barron/Cam Erving at center, but had appeared to separate himself a bit from the competition.

Because of an injury to Barron last season, Hoefeld started four straight games (Syracuse, Notre Dame, Louisville, Virginia) in a stretch from mid-October to early November. Erving ultimately moved from left tackle to center in the 10th game of the 10th game of the regular season, pushing Hoefeld out of the starting lineup.

In a press release, Arizona announced that it has scheduled a future home-and-home series with Texas Tech. UA will host Texas Tech at Arizona Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, while the Wildcats will travel to Lubbock, Tex., for a game against the Red Raiders at Jones AT&T Stadium on Sept. 19, 2020.

The two football programs actually have a rather extensive history for non-conference opponents, facing each other 31 times over the past eight-plus decades. The first meeting between the two took place in 1932, the last in 1988. The Red Raiders a 25-4-2 edge in the all-time series.

In addition to Tech, UA also announced yet another home-and-home against Hawaii. The first game will be played Sept. 17, 2016, in Tucson and the second in Honolulu on Aug. 30, 2025.

The two programs had previously announced a home-and-home for the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

“We’re excited to add more quality opponents in Texas Tech and Hawaii to our future schedules,” UA athletic director Greg Byrne said in a statement. “Playing opponents of this caliber is a great opportunity and our future schedules are developing nicely for our program and our fans.”

Swinney has since praised Watson’s rate of progress in rehab, consistently raving about his DNA and the way he’s wired. While Watson is a non-participant this spring, and in a bit of a surprising development, he should be a go for summer workouts that will start up in less than three months.

“Deshaun is making great progress, and I fully expect him to be ready to take part in our skills and drills program in June,” the coach said Monday, adding, “he really looks great.”

What that also means is that, barring a setback between now and then, Watson will be expected to enter summer camp at 100-percent health. And, based on his first season at this level, that would be a tremendous boon for Clemson’s offense.

In the four games that Watson started and finished upright, the Tigers were 4-0. If Watson had played just one snap in one additional game, even if he didn’t attempt a pass, his pass efficiency rating of 188.6 would’ve been the best in the country, ahead of Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota‘s 184.4. Additionally, his 10.7 yards per attempt was the best in the country for quarterbacks with at least 125 pass attempts.

Again, barring a setback, Watson should enter the 2015 season as one of a handful of players mentioned as potential Heisman contenders.

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The most experienced quarterback on USF’s roster will ply his football wares elsewhere, the school announced Tuesday.

Willie Taggart confirmed in a press release that Mike White has been granted a release from his USF scholarship. White had been a part of a three-man quarterback competition this spring, but decided after the last of those 15 sessions that he would continue his playing career elsewhere.

No specific reason was given for the decision.

“Mike and I talked after the conclusion of spring practice, and he expressed his desire to pursue the remainder of his career at another school,” the Bulls head coach said in a statement. “We wish Mike all the best in his future and thank him for his contributions to our program and University.”

Barring an unforeseen development, White, who was a true sophomore in 2014, would be forced to sit out the 2015 season if he ends up at another FBS program.

Over the past two seasons, the Fort Lauderdale native has started a total of 15 games. White started five games as a true freshman in 2013, and 10 the following season. He had started 13 games in a row for the Bulls before temporarily losing his starting job in late October, but came back to start the last two.

The two games White didn’t start last year were manned by Steven Bench (vs. Houston, Nov. 1) and Quinton Flowers (vs. SMU, Nov. 15), who will now move forward with what will be a two-headed quarterback competition.

Officially, OSU’s stance is that they are seeking some clarification from the NCAA and hope to have an answer back in a week or so. Unofficially, the school is expecting what would essentially amount to a slap on the wrist. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer‘s Ari Wasserman:

However, a source close to Ohio State told Northeast Ohio Media Group that the program expects a secondary violation with no eligibility lost and a letter of education for Miller to be the punishment.

Meyer did allow Tuesday, however, that he spoke out of turn yesterday when addressing Miller’s situation.

“I shouldn’t comment on things I don’t know about,” the coach said. “I don’t know, other than they are telling me they think it’s good. I think it’s going to be OK. People are asking me – ‘It’s all good, it’s done?’ I don’t know.

“It’s been told to me that everything looks to be OK. They are just doing their due diligence and making sure.”

As for the issue that’s caused the imbroglio, a school spokesperson last Wednesday confirmed to The Lantern, OSU’s student newspaper, that the university is looking into a potential NCAA rules violation committed by Miller. ElevenWarriors.com wrote at the time that “Miller… had a bit of a lapse in judgement [Tuesday] night when he appeared to endorse Advocare, a weight-loss and nutrition multi-level marketing firm that some people consider a pyramid scheme.”

The apparent endorsement came in the form of a post made to Instagram, which was subsequently taken down when the mini-controversy began to grow.

Student-athletes are permitted to hold jobs and even be self-employed, which appears to be the case in Miller’s association with the Amway-like AdvoCare group. However, as Texas A&M compliance director Brad Barnes explained to SBNation‘s Steven Godfrey in an excellent Q&A on the issue, a player’s earnings “may not include any remuneration for value or utility that the student-athlete may have for the employer because of the publicity, reputation, fame or personal following that he or she has obtained because of athletics ability.”

That will be the decision that OSU, and potentially the NCAA, has to make: whether Miller’s Instagram post constitutes using his “reputation, fame or personal following” for financial gain (whether it should be that way is another matter entirely).

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The first visceral impact of the state of Indiana’s controversial new law on the world of college football has surfaced.

Last Thursday, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed into law a bill that allows for private businesses to refuse service to — or discriminate against, as some would say — members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The NCAA quickly issued a statement expressing concern over the new law, intimating that The Association, which is headquartered in Indianapolis, could sever its ties with the state.

The Big Ten followed suit a day later, issuing a statement in which the conference, which conducts its football championship game in Indianapolis, stated that “its member institutions believe in promoting an inclusive environment in which athletic competition can operate free from discrimination.”

The College Football Playoff committee members are set to meet in Indianapolis this week as the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four will tip-off in the same city. One of the 13 committee members, however, will not be in attendance — USC athletic director Pat Haden, who is conducting his own personal boycott of the city because of the so-called “religious freedom” law.

I am the proud father of a gay son. In his honor, I will not be attending the CFP committee meeting in Indy this week. #EmbraceDiversity

Regardless of your stance on the new law, Haden should be roundly applauded for standing up for not only his son but for what he believes in. What will be interesting moving forward, however, is how many, if any, of Haden’s committeemen/women stand beside their fellow member and stay away from the city as well.

And, for those of you who have already tired of this issue, you’d better brace yourself; it’s not going away. In fact, it will only grow in the coming days and weeks as other Hadens from inside the world of sports and out follow suit.

In 2013, Lucien overcame a back injury to start three of the 13 games in which he played, catching 10 passes for 208 yards. The year before, he was the team’s third-leading receiver (10-188) before a broken clavicle knocked him out for the remainder of the regular season.

As noted by the Times, and outside of Lucien, the Bruins will return their top seven receivers in receptions from a year ago.

UPDATED 2:19 p.m. ET: Head coach Jim Mora confirmed that Lucien is indeed transferring out of his Bruins football program.

And, according to members of Ford’s family, the two situations are related.

In a statement sent out to the local OU media, Ford’s parents claimed their’s son’s uncharacteristic actions that led to the suspension are directly connected to the injury. The basis for that supposition, the parents said, are the opinions of “several medical professionals,” who stated behavior out of the norm is “not uncommon among athletes after suffering extensive injury.”

Just what the specific behavior was that led to Ford’s suspension has yet to be released publicly.

Last season, Ford’s 392 yards rushing were good for third on the team, while his five rushing touchdowns were tied for second. The junior added 11 receptions for 140 yards and another touchdown coming out of the backfield.

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Yesterday we noted that Louisville wide receiver Paul Carter had legally changed his name to Alphonso Carter. We also noted how it seemed like a rather rare occurrence for a player at the collegiate level.

As it turns out, it’s not all that rare — at least as far as yesterday is concerned.

A short time after Louisville announced the naming news via Twitter, Oregon quarterback Travis Waller took to the same social media site to reveal something similar. In a tweet, Waller announced to his followers that, moving forward, he will be “Travis Zion Jonsen.” According to the player, the name change is in honor of his mom and his grandmother’s maiden name.

It wasn’t clarified as to whether Jonsen legally changed his name.

I have changed my name to "Travis Zion Jonsen". The last name "Jonsen" will be honoring my mom and grandma's maiden name.

The news is somewhat of a big deal as Jonsen, as Waller, was one of the most highly-touted players at his position in the most recent recruiting cycle.

A four-star member of the Ducks’ 2015 recruiting class, Jonsen was rated as the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country; the No. 10 player at any position in the state of California; and the No. 49 player overall according to Rivals.com. Along with running back Taj Griffin and defensive end Canton Kaumatule, Jonsen was the top-rated player in UO’s class.

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After being exonerated through the legal system, Praise Martin-Oguike is now getting another chance to extend his collegiate football career as well.

In June of 2012, Martin-Oguike was hit with a litany of charges, including aggravated assault, forcible rape, sexual assault, unlawful restraint and false imprisonment, after a Temple student alleged he raped her in the linebacker’s dorm room. Martin-Oguike, who was indefinitely suspended by the Owls, maintained that the sex was consensual and, a little over a year later, all charges were dropped.

“Upon further investigation it was determined there wasn’t enough evidence to proceed to trial,” a Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office spokesperson said at the time.

Martin-Oguike was reinstated by the Owls in January of 2014, but missed the 2013 season because of what turned out to be false accusations. That has been rectified to some degree, however, as the school announced in a press release Tuesday morning that Martin-Oguike’s appeal for an additional season of eligibility has been approved by the NCAA.

Martin-Oguike will now see his eligibility extend through the 2016 season. He will be a redshirt junior in 2015.

“I can’t imagine what Praise and his family were put through from the time those accusations were made,” head coach Matt Rhule said in a statement. “Hopefully he – and the rest of our players for that matter – learn from that experience how close they are to having the privilege of playing college athletics taken away. Fortunately, in this instance, Praise has been able to restore his life and his reputation. He has done everything we’ve asked of him since returning to the team.”

“I said throughout this process that I just want to get back to the life I had before,” said Martin-Oguike. “There was a path that I was on, to play four years of college football and get my college degree, then hopefully, have an opportunity to play at the next level. I’m working towards that goal and I’m very thankful that I’m back on that path.”

In 2014, Martin-Oguike led the Owls with 7.5 sacks after starting 11 games. For his efforts, he was named second-team All-AAC.

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On the same day its running back depth took a hit, Oklahoma’s pool of wide receivers got a little more shallow. The Sooners announced on their official Twitter account Monday that Jordan Smallwood had suffered an ACL injury and will be out through early-to-mid September.

. @OU_CoachStoops confirms that WR Jordan Smallwood has suffered a left ACL injury. Will likely miss first 1-2 games of season.